Brought to you by the ATHM Hyper Typer and ...
with a question:
Where is this going?
Reuters, Thursday, January 15, 1998 at 16:21
(Press release provided by Moody's Investors Service)
NEW YORK, Jan 15 - Moody's confirmed the credit ratings of
TCI Communications, Inc. (Ba1 senior unsecured), Comcast
Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) (Ba1 senior unsecured), and Cox
Communications, Inc. (Baa2 senior unsecured) following the
announcement that AT&T Corporation will acquire Teleport
Communications Group in a stock swap transaction valued at
about $12 billion based on AT&T's current stock price.
TCI Communications' affiliate TCI Ventures Group LLC,
Comcast, and Cox together own about 60% of Teleport and will
receive AT&T shares valued at over $6 billion. The confirmation
reflects Moody's expectation that the net proceeds will not
generate any substantial alteration of any of the rated cable
companies' financial and operating strategies including their
ongoing capital expenditure programs, potential acquisitions,
stock repurchases, debt reduction and other asset dispositions.
However, the proceeds will provide the companies with added
financial flexibility and capital cushion to permit multiple
initiatives in a more compressed time frame. Moody's
anticipates that the use of proceeds by Comcast and Cox will
include some debt reduction, but that leverage ratios will
likely remain within ranges consistent with existing ratings.
Repurchases of stock by Comcast is also likely, and each of the
companies will continue to be opportunistic investors and
acquirers of programming, telecommunications and cable systems.
But these strategic initiatives are already incorporated in
current ratings. TCI Communications will not be the direct
recipient of the AT&T shares when the stock swap occurs since
the Teleport shares are owned by its affiliate, TCI Ventures
Group LLC. TCI Ventures Group LLC is wholly owned by TCI
Communications' parent company Tele-Communications, Inc. The
rating outlook for TCI Communications remains positive, and the
outlook for both Comcast and Cox remains stable. TCI
Communications, Inc., with its headquarters in Englewood,
Colorado, is the largest U.S. operator of cable television
systems.
Comcast Corporation, with its headquarters in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, is a major cable television system operator, owns
and operates cable television programming, and is a provider of
cellular telephone services. Cox Communications, Inc., with its
headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, is a broadband communications
company with operations and investments in United States and
international cable television systems, programming, and
telecommunications and technology.
Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service
P.S. I'm starting to feel like the sharks are swimming around us
P.S.S. or P.P.S. or whatever... I still have a heavy interrest in ATHM, but missed the last fire sale (Our business "PC" has picked up big time). Anyone see this ever hitting 20 again? |
